Barcelona striker Luis Suarez has revealed former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard convinced him to reject move to Arsenal in 2013.
At the time Suarez was in deep trouble, serving a ban for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic and wanted to move away from the Reds after they failed to qualify for the Champions League.
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Suarez had notched 23 goals in 33 games when he was seeking a move to Arsenal at the end of the 2012/13 season.
But the Uruguayan has revealed Kop legend Gerrard convinced him to say at Liverpool, reassuring him that he would “take off” and court interest from Europe’s elite.
Suarez did indeed “take off” and scored 31 goals in 33 Premier League games in his final season with Liverpool almost leading them to the title.
The Uruguayan headed to Barcelona shortly after for £65m in 2014, despite more disciplinary problems.
Suarez has scored 172 goals in 236 appearances for Barcelona so far, winning three league titles, four Spanish cups
But according to the 32-year-old, Gerrard – Liverpool’s captain at the time – convinced him to remain at the club by persuading him that the grass would not be greener in north London.
“We qualified for the UEFA Europa League but the season ended badly,” Suarez told OTRO, as reported by the Liverpool Echo.
“I’m about to go to Arsenal, forcing myself to go, and Steven tells me: ‘I promise that if you stay this year you’re going to take off and next year you’ll go to Bayern, Barcelona, Real Madrid or whichever one you want, but stay this year because you won’t be better off at Arsenal’.”
Suarez added: “This was the last conversation I had with Gerrard at that moment and I told my agent that I had made my decision and I was staying.
“His words convinced me in that moment. They came from a person who cared for me, who wanted my well-being, who saw me suffer during training and saw me sad.
“They were words from a true captain that had an impact in that moment and helped me a lot.”